Unions lose court battle with Macomb County

A judge refused Monday to block concessionary labor contracts imposed on two unions by Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel.

The county jail corrections officers and road workers lost their effort to halt Hackel from his action in May to force contracts that contain wage and benefits cuts for the 285 workers in the two unions, an 8.6 percent pay cut for guards and 6.8 percent pay cut for road workers.

Union representatives, however, were not surprised with Macomb Circuit Judge Edward Servitto’s ruling and hope they can win unfair labor practice charges with the Michigan Employment Relations Commission.

“We still have our case with MERC (Michigan Employment Relations Commission) and expect to prevail there,” said Brian Schrier, president of the Macomb County Professional Deputy Sheriff’s Association, which represents the guards. He was among about dozen union members and supporters attending the court hearing Monday in Mount Clemens.

They also pointed out Servitto did not rule against their Constitutional claim that Hackel’s maneuver violated their due process. The lawsuit on those claims will continue, said the unions’ attorney, James Andary Sr.

Hackel was pleased with the ruling but didn’t gloat.

“It’s not a win, it’s a fairness issue for the taxpayers of Macomb County,” Hackel said. “That’s their right (to go to court). I harbor no ill will.”

Hackel imposed the contracts to bring the two units in line with 23 of 24 of the remaining bargaining units that had reached concessionary deals with the county. The lone other holdout, representing administrative and technical employees, remains in fact-finding.

The concessionary contracts were necessary as the county has been plagued with budget deficits due to falling property tax revenue in recent years.

Members of the trio of unions have not sacrificed like the other units, Hackel noted.

But union officials said their members were willing to sacrifice like other employees but wanted control on how and where the cuts occur. The unions’ legal argument was that Hackel was required by the county charter to gain approval from the county Board of Commissioners, and that he retaliated against the unions.

Judge Servitto said he was bound by a state Court of Appeals precedent-setting ruling in 2012 pitting the Council 25 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal employees against Wayne County. He said two cases involve “virtually identical issues.”

The executive branch has a right to impose its “last best offer,” the judge said

But Servitto did seem to give credence to the minority opinion in that 2-1 decision by reading it from the bench.

Servitto also noted that the legal standard for the unions’ request is to prove “irreparable harm,” and since all of the issues are economic, any harm that would be suffered by the unions could be cured financially.